Hank Aaron, the famed Atlanta Brave slugger that bested Babe Ruth’s homerun record in the 70s, is no stranger to getting hate mail. After offering his opinions on race relations in America last month, it was revealed on Jackie Robinson Day, that letters filled with vitriol flooded the Braves office once again.

Hank Aaron Targeted For Comments On Race

In the month leading up to the 67th anniversary of Jackie Robinson’s debut in Major League Baseball, which made him the first African American to play for the league, Aaron revealed that while he felt that America has improved where racism is concerned over the years, he believes the country still has great strides to make. He keeps old hate mail from when he beat Ruth's record for the purpose of reminding himself of that.

"To remind myself that we are not that far removed from when I was chasing the record," Aaron told USA Today, referring to 1974. "If you think that, you are fooling yourself. A lot of things have happened in this country, but we have so far to go. There's not a whole lot that has changed.

"We can talk about baseball. Talk about politics. Sure, this country has a black president, but when you look at a black president, President Obama is left with his foot stuck in the mud from all of the Republicans with the way he's treated, he added. “We have moved in the right direction, and there have been improvements, but we still have a long ways to go.

Talking about people who still harbor racist sentiment, he said, “The bigger difference is back then they had hoods. Now they have neckties and starched shirts."

Aaron’s comments inspired many to write hate-filled letters in which racial epithets were liberally used to describe him, reported USA Today. Ironically, though they were slamming his remarks, they were, in a sense, giving them credence.

“Hank Aaron is a black man,” Frank Robinson, the first African-American manager and Hall of Fame player, told the New York Daily News. “He only spoke his mind. I have seen and heard other people in this country say worse things, and they don’t get hate mail. It shows you we still have a ways to go.”

– Chelsea Regan